What are your thoughts on system-less worldbuilding/setting books?

[Glade Riven]

Just curious. Like the original Dinotopia books were more of an art and worldbuilding book, not actually related to tabletop or other media.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’ll use anything for source material. So if someone did a quality product that intersected with my interests, I’d lean towards getting it.

 

[aramis erak]

I've generally found them amusing enough in waiting rooms, but not something I'd buy; I've had students, however, who absolutely loved them.

I have no temptation to use them in games.

The exceptions being the Atlas and encylopedia for Star Wars, and the tech manuals for Star Trek.

 

[Dioltach]

Aren't systemless settings simply fiction? If you have to adapt the information to your preferred mechanics, you might as well just be reading a novel or watching a movie.

 

[aramis erak]

Aren't systemless settings simply fiction? If you have to adapt the information to your preferred mechanics, you might as well just be reading a novel or watching a movie.

They are, but they're not the same as novels, prose, nor movies, at least, generally.

Look at shows like Walking with Dinosaurs, books like Atlas of Middle Earth, Star Fleet Technical Manual, Star Wars Essential Atlas (SW EA), A Tour of the Galaxy, or and of the Terran Trade Authority series' books.
Walking with Dinosaurs is speculative (and now outdated, due to increased knowledge) work, building a narrative and setting from archaeological descriptions, but, it really is every bit as fictional as Jurassic Park; it's just better researched and actively trying not to screw it up.
Atlas of Middle Earth is presented as non-fiction about a fictional place. So also is the SW EA, and the Atlas of Pern. But SW EA does add a bit of prose written in the style of a history text...
A Tour of the Galaxy is presented as if a scrapbook... but it tells a story in various things that shouldn't be in a normal person's scrapbook... Think of it as a scrapbook update built by an archivist with access to declassified records and the scrapbook of the main characters....
The TTA series presents as a series of historical texts...
And the SFTM is presented as a recovered leak from (presumably) the Enterprise computer dropping a bit of data before Uhura realized Starfleet wasn't there. (Tomorrow is Yesterday ST[TOS] s1 e21)

All of those are worldbuilding efforts that aren't games, nor novels, nor movies, nor television. They're Fiction presented in a manner consistent with non-fiction.

 

[Blue]

I prefer a setting where the game mechanics actively support it. Easy to see is a place where the magic system will impact the world.

Here's a quick example: Steven Brust has several series of books where resurrection is pretty straightforward. It makes assassination a tool of rebukement instead of the final step. And there are soul draining weapons that make resurrection impossible, but those are both rare and distasteful. Also almost everyone has access to some magic. A ruleset that did not support these would invalidate those as a setting.

 

[GMMichael]

I think systemless setting books are excellent for dressing up settingless games, like mine. My favorite is my Skyrim game guide. Some of the rules bleed into it, like X spell costs Y magicka at base skill levels, but the maps, quests, NPCs, and countless details are pure GM fodder.

I prefer a setting where the game mechanics actively support it. Easy to see is a place where the magic system will impact the world.

Here's a quick example: Steven Brust has several series of books where resurrection is pretty straightforward. It makes assassination a tool of rebukement instead of the final step. And there are soul draining weapons that make resurrection impossible, but those are both rare and distasteful. Also almost everyone has access to some magic. A ruleset that did not support these would invalidate those as a setting.

Do not support and actively support are two different things. Active support would be nice: "here's a full description of how soul draining works with the rules." Lack of support is just a GM ruling or two away from active support. Where it gets ugly is conflicting with the rules. Rule X: "only the ResNow spell can resurrect people, and only 15th level priests can use ResNow." One rule can be circumvented, but if this last example is tied in with more rules, then I can see how the rule set could conflict with the setting.

 

[Emerikol]

Aren't systemless settings simply fiction? If you have to adapt the information to your preferred mechanics, you might as well just be reading a novel or watching a movie.

Not really. I mean if you provide a world map or at least a big region and then detail out everything about the peoples and nations that live there there mechanics are no big deal. I use old world stuff with different rules sets all the time. I could use GURPs with Greyhawk for example. To me the backgrounds and detail are what make a setting great. Now I know I am not in the mainstream these days. So not saying that is universal but for me it is.

 

[J.Quondam]

I've never used any systemless game setting books, like for Skyrim; but I have a handful of literary reference materials, in the vein of Atlas of Middle Earth and so forth which I've used both for Tolkein-based games and just for inspiration.
But most of all, i like thematic art books. One that springs to mind is author/artist Wayne Douglas Barlow, whose sci-fi "journal" Expedition and his hell-themed art books like Inferno and Brushfire I've found to be very inspirational.

 

[Greggy C]

Just curious. Like the original Dinotopia books were more of an art and worldbuilding book, not actually related to tabletop or other media.

Depends on the license. I could see how generic settings would blow up right now for all the people copying D&D mechanics.